A lawyer for state Rep. Ana Rivas Logan has sent a letter to her Aug. 14 Republican primary opponent, Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, asking him to stop someone allegedly working for Diaz's campaign from "making malicious and false defamatory statements" about Logan.

The two incumbent Miami Republicans are vying for the same Kendall-based seat following once-a-decade redistricting.

Diaz said Tuesday he received the letter, which he dismissed as an attempt by Logan to get attention.

"This is Ana's tactic to get free press," he said, adding that his campaign workers have not defamed her, as she alleges. "I would denounce anybody that would talk poorly to a voter about anything personal."

Logan's attorney, Joe Geller, drafted the letter Monday saying that "several different observers, including independent persons" have heard at least one Diaz worker at the West Dade Regional Library early voting site saying "words to the effect 'that Ana Rivas Logan is a bad mother and had her kids taken away from her.'"

"These statements are entirely untrue," Geller's letter says. "Ms. Logan's children are all adults and she is close to all of them. Even years ago, when Ms. Ana Rivas Logan was going through a divorce, she was granted custody of her three (3) children."

Logan sent a statement from her three grown children, Nicole, Mario and Alexandra: "We are deeply saddened and distraught that Representative Diaz's Campaign is making malicious and defamatory statements about our mother whom we enjoy a very good relationship with and love very much. She has been a loving and caring mother and thanks to her hard work and dedication, we are successful today."

Diaz noted that Geller is a Democrat.

"If anyone has been harassing volunteers at the poll it has been my opponent," Diaz said in an email. "This campaign should be about who is the best candidate for district 116. I will continue to work hard to meet the voters of my district."